Creating a patient-held cancer-treatment record

A national patient-held treatment record for patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) has recently been launched to support patients with cancer. It has been developed by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) in collaboration with the UK Chemotherapy Board (UKCB) and has had patient involvement at each stage of its development.

Patients receiving SACT are often overloaded with information relating to their cancer journey, including their diagnosis, treatment, side effects, financial support, etc. This information is often delivered by multiple health professionals and can be overwhelming for patients. In addition, information about treatment and potential side effects can be critical for other health professionals if the patient is admitted to hospital in an emergency, or if the patient seeks medical advice from a health professional without access to information relating to their diagnosis and treatment. The treatment record provides a place to document the patient's regimen, side effects and contact numbers. A patient-friendly version of the UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) telephone triage tool is also included to assist with early symptom reporting.